An ill wind
12 August 2009
Is Vestas being over-hasty in closing its plant on the Isle of Wight, or is the government dragging its heels over the grants, investment and legislation that will allow offshore windfarms to be built and connected quickly?
There’s something funny going on with wind power in the UK. On one hand, we have the workers’ protest at the Vestas wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight, with the sit-in now over and the protestors planning a picket of the plant and of Peter Mandelson’s house. On the other, we have the government insisting at every possible opportunity that the UK is committed to wind power, especially offshore, and intends to expand its use in the next few years.
So, the government says that Britain will not only be a major market for wind turbines and associated equipment, but will also be a centre for turbine technology. The cynical among us might say that we had the chance 20 years ago and let it slip away to Danish companies such as Vestas. Who, incidentally, say that they’re closing down the Isle of Wight plant because of lack of demand for turbines in the UK; all of the factory’s output was exported to the US in recent years, the company says, and with its recent expansion across the Atlantic, it now has no need for the UK facility.
Clearly the future can’t be bright and bleak at the same time. So is Vestas being over-hasty in closing the plant, or is the government dragging its heels over the grants, investment and legislation that will allow offshore windfarms to be built and connected quickly?
Vestas lays the blame firmly at the government’s feet; last year, it switched production to 44m blades, suited to offshore turbines, following the government’s announcement that it would turn to windpower to reach the target of generating 20 per cent of the UK’s energy by renewable means by 2020. However, it says, the planning regime made the market unstable. It remains convinced that the UK has good wind conditions and is a potentially important market, but says that it can’t keep producing blades while nobody is ordering turbines.
Wind power is, of course, controversial in the UK. Many local groups are opposed to them on aesthetic grounds, and the problem of intermittency — that is, the gaps in generation when the wind isn’t blowing — still hasn’t been fully overcome. Grid connection is also slow, and the transmission system is in need of overhaul, as we’ve argued in The Engineer.
But all of these arguments and problems can be answered with a concerted effort. Supporting wind power is not putting all our eggs in one basket; surely the message must have got through by now that we need all potential sources of energy, working with each other, to fill generation gaps and move to a lower-carbon, less fossil-fuel dependent, more secure energy generation. So a move to make it easier to obtain planning permission for windfarms might not be popular with some voters. But surely the government wouldn’t be that short-sighted? Would it?
Stuart Nathan
Special Projects Editor
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Readers' comments (17)
Ian E. Packington MA Chem - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 2:42 pm
I understand (Today programme, recent interview) that micro-generation, using e.g. wind turbines, solar energy trapping et al and battery storage is reckoned by experts to be the only viable path to tread if we are to avoid missing all our carbon targets. This ameliorates the otherwise insoluble problem of inefficient electricity transmission from remote power stations, of whatever kind, to domestic consumers, rendering the overall process no better than 30% efficient. Up to 80% efficiency is readily achievable via microgeneration, and the government should certainly be investing heavily in this area of the energy market - before it is too late! Small domestic wind generators, solar devices (or possibly local geothermal sources) will tap into renewable energy sources, cutting drastically the amounts of electricity and gas supplied to individual households, and cities, and the net carbon footprint. Householders and local Councils would need sustained access to grants and/or financial incentives if they are to invest in these devices in a sufficiently decisive way.
Yours faithfully
I.E. Packington
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S.Walkinshaw - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 2:45 pm
I will leave it for others to comment on the government’s apparent lack of direction. During a recent visit to Germany, I visited two major companies that were working on machinery to make Wind Turbines, and was almost dependant on this market. A British company I know recently made machines for export which are to be used in the manufacture of bearings for wind turbines. The benefit of this work for the German companies is that it provides a core business to the suppliers that enable them to stay in operation. This is a very effective use of government money in those countries that are producing the equipment (both the turbines and the machines to make them). The British company made a valuable sale, but it is just once, and the economic benefit will be felt more in the country it was exported to. Maybe someone more eloquent than I can relate this to the Multiplier Effect, described by Keynes? My understanding of this is that if the company makes something, and pays its staff and suppliers, then they in turn pay their suppliers, the money passes down the chain to the greengrocer and has an effect on the economy of approx 5x the original value. My philosophical outlook is that those countries that have governments with vision and a strong direction will be best placed to emerge from the recession.
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Kerry Green - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 2:47 pm
UK governments have a track history of dithering and being non committal. While you may be able to do this in government, you cannot do it in business. It is incredible that we cannot feed enough business into the IOW Vestas plant to make the business viable. Rolls-Royce had similar issues with government dithering in the 1940's, fortunately they had Hives at the helm who could see the future and had the strength to correct poor government decisions. We need strong industrialists to sort out the dithering government.
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Robert Smith - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 2:51 pm
The argument that planning is preventing the construction of wind turbines is largely spurious. A review of data produced by the British Wind Energy Association clearly shows that the capacity of the wind farms receiving consent greatly exceeds the capacity being built, and has done so for many years. Consenting may be costly and uncertain but the real bottleneck must be elsewhere.
http://www.bwea.com/ukwed/index.asp
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B P Silvester - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 2:51 pm
Yes we do need every type of power generation and, as engineers, we must go back to "buy British" and ‘made in Britain’. But this government does not want to work with us, or anybody who lives here. Roll on the time when we have someone in authority, with one ounce (yes ounce, not gram) of sense and can see through the goons we have at the moment
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Joan Round - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 3:08 pm
This all sounds like management looking for excuses. This government has a track record for making statements and then failing to act on them. Perhaps the lesson here is not to act on what they say, but on what they do.
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P Neale - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 3:34 pm
Did I hear on the news, within the last few weeks, that the govenment had 7,000 wind turbines on order? Where have they been ordered from?
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Jonathan Douglas - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 3:35 pm
This government short-sighted? I think its vision goes forward about nine months max! I can't say much about the Vestas situation itself, but on the subject of micro-generation, I have found out a little. I live at an altitude of about 600ft, not high, but fairly for the British Midlands. We definitely catch the wind more than people down in the village. We have four acres of fields. We could build a small wind farm. Estimated installed cost for three turbines capable of about 20kW? Total, approximately: £75,000. Grant available: £2,500. Not very encouraging!
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Tony Essex - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 3:36 pm
But what are we going to do when the lights go out? It's all very well talking about the government's target of producing 20% of our energy from renewables by 2020 but what about the other 80%? If the UK really needs: "lower-carbon, less fossil-fuel dependent, more secure energy generation", then it had better get some PDQ! Power generation by nuclear means is the only sustainable option that meets all stated criteria. Frankly, arguments about wind power and the government's moribund stance on the subject are just a lot of 'cold air'!
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Richard Moseley - An ill wind | 12 Aug 2009 3:36 pm
Perhaps the problem is that it is known that the current technology is almost at the end of a cul de sac and that cheaper designs will impact on the subsidy available, which is the only thing that makes current wind generated electricity viable.
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